“It needs to be done,” said Petty when asked why she decided to challenge Justice Nathan Hecht, the senior jurist on the all-Republican court.

Being the Democratic nominee for the high court in Texas isn't all that attractive these days. A Democrat hasn't captured any statewide office in Texas since 1994, and Petty's chances are widely viewed as slim.

But Petty is not one of those delusional perennial candidates. Petty is well qualified to serve on the high court. She feels strongly that the defense-oriented Texas Supreme Court is on the wrong track, and she intends to tell Texans about it until Election Day. She deserves to be heard.

Petty is a hard-nosed, successful lawyer, who once clerked at the high court. She lost her only other political race, a 1992 Democratic primary bid for a Bexar County district court bench. In that campaign, she proved her work ethic by attending every Democratic event imaginable, working to overcome a funding disadvantage.

Petty's funding disadvantage will be huge this year if Hecht feels the need to run an aggressive campaign. For the most part, she is financing her own campaign, estimating she will spend $100,000. That's a mere pittance in a statewide race. Judicial campaigns seldom get much media attention, and money is crucial.

The Democrat finds the state's judicial selection system troubling.

In a statement on her website, she elaborates, “Judges must panhandle campaign contributions from the lawyers and parties who appear in front of them. Judges ought to be above the fray, but in reality they have to get down and dial for dollars.”

As a result, the common citizen who can't afford to contribute has “the deck stacked against him.”

She believes big contributors influence judicial decisions.

Petty would keep elections, but amend the state Constitution to require that judges be board certified, a proof of knowledge that most lawyers do not obtain. Petty is board certified in civil law. She also supports public financing of judicial campaigns.

Hecht is in his 24th year on the court. Texans who were born in 1988, the year he was first elected, have been drinking beer legally for three years.

Petty thinks that is a systemic problem. She is advocating term limits, saying that high court justices should be limited to two six-year terms. Judges who enjoy the rarified air of the court for too long, lose touch with average people, Petty said.

The Democrat also hopes to get mileage out of Hecht's concurrence in a controversial ruling wiping out Texas' open beaches law that preserved cherished access for average Texans.

Petty joins Paul Sadler, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, and Democratic Texas Court of Criminal Appeals nominee Keith Hampton in a tiny group of legitimate statewide candidates carrying their party's flag.

Aging Republicans who toiled in the political fields a few decades back look on knowingly.